McGinn: Council’s tunnel priority ‘not public safety’

At the raucous City Council meeting Monday morning at which Mayor Mike McGinn’s tunnel deal veto was overridden, several City Councilmembers touted safety as their primary concern in moving forward with the tunnel replacement for the viaduct.

“This is not just about transportation; this is about safety,” Council President Richard Conlin said as he detailed dangers with other public infrastructure.

Councilman Tom Rasmussen said: “We have a responsibility to protect lives… This viaduct is fragile…my belief is the mayor is being reckless and irresponsible.”

There are plenty of arguments for moving the tunnel forward, but Councilmembers who favor that option failed to mention that their preference leaves the aging, creaky structure up the longest – for at least four more years.

McGinn said that’s because public safety isn’t their priority.

McGinn

“They chose the option that leaves the elevated viaduct up for the longest period of time,” McGinn told seattlepi.com “Their real priority is building the tunnel, it’s not public safety.”

Other options considered would have had the viaduct torn down as early as next year. Indeed, Gov. Chris Gregoire in 2008 promised to tear it down in 2012 because of public safety concerns.

One of the reasons the tunnel replacement is so popular in some quarters is precisely because the viaduct can remain standing while the tunnel is built. Other options would’ve brought the tunnel down sooner, but would’ve compounded traffic concerns during that messy process.

McGinn encouraged the Council to allow a public vote on the tunnel option, something Councilman Mike O’Brien will push for later Monday.

“This is a big project with a tremendous amount of risk. Is the Council going to let the public vote?” McGinn asked.